The BioAgri sector has come of age in India. In 2004-05, Rasi
Seeds became the second company in India to make commercially available Bt
cotton. With the entry of Rasi, the entire Bt cotton seeds business changed. The
release of RCH 2 Bt in 2004 by Rasi has created greater confidence in the
farmers about Bt technology. The farmers have understood that they get maximum
benefit using hybrids with Bt technology and there is huge demand.

*Mech-162 Bt and Mech-184 Bt of
Mahyco-Monsanto can be cultivated in south India with the exception of
Andhra Pradesh

The total Bt cotton seeds revenues in 2004-05 was Rs 253.3
crore, a record growth of 369 percent compared to Rs 54 crore in 2003-04. A
total of 15.8 lakh packets of seeds containing 450 grams were sold. The total
seeds sale was 7.11 lakh kg. The "Bollgard" Bt cotton seeds were sold
in six states-Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra. Rasi Seeds in 2004-05 reported total Bt cotton seeds sales of
Rs 86.9 crore. Mahyco-Monsanto, the first company permitted to sell Bt cotton,
was estimated to have grown over 208 percent to end the year at Rs 166.4 crore.

The total bioagri sector in the country was estimated at Rs
330 crore, up from Rs 130 crore in 2003-04. The Bt Cotton seeds sales only
accounted for 76.75 percent of this market, bio pesticides, biofertilizers and
markers accounted for the rest. International Panacea and Biotech International
were the two major companies in the biopesticides and biofertilizers category.
International Pancea reported sales of Rs 17 crore, while Biotech Biotech
International's sales stood at Rs 10.64 crore.

This year would be a watershed year for Bt Cotton. Bt cotton
gets green signal in several other states. The apex regulatory body, the Genetic
Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), approved six new varieties of transgenic
cotton in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. With this
decision, transgenic cotton will now be commercially cultivated in the North for
the first time. These approved genetically modified Bt cotton hybrids include
MRC-6301 and MRC-6304 of the Jalna-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco),
RCH-134 and RCH-138 of the Coimbatore-based Rasi Seeds and Ankur-651 and
Ankur-2534 of the Nagpur-based Ankur Seeds.

Spurious
Bt Cotton Seeds in Gujarat.Central Institute of Cotton Research
(CICR) verified the allegation of spurious Bt cotton seeds in Gujarat
and found them to be positive for the presence of Cry 1 Ac gene. Here's
the list.

Only three Bt cotton hybrids of Mahyco (Mech-162, Mech-184
and Mech-12) were given the approval in 2002. In 2003, it was only RCH-2, the Bt
cotton variety of Rasi Seeds that was given the green signal for cultivation in
Central and Southern India. This year things have taken a dramatic turn. The
total tally of Bt cotton hybrids approved for cultivation has climbed up to 17.
And these can be grown in the three zones. While the North zone includes Haryana,
Punjab and Rajasthan, Central India includes Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, South zone includes Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu.

Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, which launched its Bt versions of its
cotton hybrid varieties, Bunny and Mallika, announced that it has prepared about
five lakh packets of Bt hybrid seed for cultivation in the kharif season. Of
these, 1.2-1.5 lakh packets will be sold in Andhra Pradesh. The Bt seed pack,
including the conventional seed, has been priced at Rs 1,820.

Monsanto technology rules the roost. The Bt cottonseeds,
originally developed by Monsanto in the US and marketed under the brand name of
"Bollgard", is being marketed by the joint venture company Mahyco
Monsanto Biotech India Ltd. The company has transferred the Bt technology to
over 15 Indian seed companies like Rasi, Ankur, Emergent Genetics, Ajeet, JK
Seeds, Krishi Dhan, Vikram Seeds, and Tulsi Seeds. The trials conducted by these
seed companies are at different stages. Each of these companies pay Monsanto
about Rs 1200 per packet as royalty.

BT
Cotton Varieties

Company

Approved
Bt

Ankur
Seeds

Ankur-09

Ankur
Seeds

Ankur-2534

Ankur
Seeds

Ankur-651

Mahyco-Monsanto

Mech-12
Bt

Mahyco-Monsanto

Mech-162
Bt

Mahyco-Monsanto

Mech-184
Bt *

Mahyco-Monsanto

MRC-6301

Mahyco-Monsanto

MRC-6304

Mahyco-Monsanto

MRC-6322

Mahyco-Monsanto

MRC-6918

Nuziveedu
Seeds

NCS-145
Bunny Bt

Nuziveedu
Seeds

NCS-207
Malika Bt

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-118

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-134

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-138

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-144

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-2

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-20

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-317

Rasi
Seeds

RCH-368

Indigenous technology and technology from Sygenta are also
being considered. Companies like Indo American Hybrid Seeds and Metahelix are
working on this front. Moreover, Metahelix is getting ready with its own Bt
Cotton. In October 2003, National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow,
announced that its technology was ready for transfer and also licensed the same
to a consortium, Swarna Bharat Biotechnics Pvt Ltd (SBBPL), for transfer. The
indigenous Bt technology and its likely commercialization in the current
regulatory system are likely to happen in 2007-2008.

The regulatory system has been on an evolution path. The
regulatory system is unable to do anything about the spread of the illegal Bt
cotton, which is spreading at an unabated and alarming rate. The illegal Bt
cotton occupies more area (about 25 percent of total hybrid cotton area) than
the legal version (about 10 percent of total hybrid cotton area) according to
some reports. It is widely felt that deregulation of transgenic technologies
like Bt cotton (Cry1 A(c) gene in cotton) where bio-safety is proven and
approved for commercial use, as it is the case in countries like the US and
Australia, is the solution for several of the regulatory problems with
transgenic crops like Bt cotton in India. With the National Biotech Policy in
sight, most of them are hopeful that things will change. And 2006 would be a
landmark year for Bt cotton.